Do you know an organization or a project that uses innovative solutions to protect the environment and strengthen the heritage of local residents in coastal, waterway or island destinations? Ashoka’s Changemakers , National Geographic and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) are looking for them. The 2010 Geotourism Challenge awards $5,000 to the top three entries,...

Unless you've been living in a place where popular media does not go (like with my mother), you might have noticed that Elizabeth Gilbert's surprise hit memoir "Eat, Pray, Love" has been made into a movie starring Julia Roberts...and it's getting released, on slightly different days, around this time in lots of different countries. The...

Rolf's latest travel project is the No Baggage Challenge -- a journey that will take him around the world without using a single piece of luggage. Every few days, we'll be updating Vagabonding with a recap of the latest to keep you up to date on the adventure. Rolf ended up staying three nights in...

For those of us who don't have a permanent physical disability, it can sometimes be difficult to imagine what the world is like for those who do. Buildings that are pretty easy to navigate with two working legs become impossible in a wheelchair: my university, which prides itself on being wheelchair friendly and accessible, once...

Rolf's latest travel project is the No Baggage Challenge -- a journey that will take him around the world without using a single piece of luggage. Every few days, we'll be updating Vagabonding with a recap of the latest to keep you up to date on the adventure. Rolf spent a few days off the...

Rolf's latest travel project is the No Baggage Challenge -- a journey that will take him around the world without using a single piece of luggage. Every few days, we'll be updating Vagabonding with a recap of the latest to keep you up to date on the adventure. After a few hectic days in Cairo,...

Sometimes as a solo traveler you need a bit more amusement; you don't have someone to tell you offensive jokes or about their first sexual experience, and you're tired of staring out the train windows at scenery or communicating by hand gestures and large grins at local small children. So then it's fun to set...

The truth of a place is revealed by its scent. Forget political boundaries -- if you want to know what two places or lifestyles have in common, compare their smells. Tracing a fence along the back of the Allentown Fair last week, past the carny trailers, I smelled India. It was both a surprise and...

Rolf's latest travel project is the No Baggage Challenge -- a journey that will take him around the world without using a single piece of luggage. Every few days, we'll be updating Vagabonding with a recap of the latest to keep you up to date on the adventure. After time in Chefchaouen and Fes, Rolf...

As you may have noticed, Rolf is currently in the midst of traveling around the world with only what he can carry in his pockets. He's got a toothbrush, a change of underpants, and an iPod Touch to do his blog posting from, as well as some presumably bulging cargo pants pockets. I did see...

I expected that it would be excessively hot on the late August day that I’d be working on a home in New Orleans. I’d already imagined it in my mind: alternating time between standing on a ladder and collapsing under a tent to balance my body temperature. Instead, it rained steadily on the day before...

Rolf's latest travel project is the No Baggage Challenge -- a journey that will take him around the world without using a single piece of luggage. Every few days, we'll be updating Vagabonding with a recap of the latest to keep you up to date on the adventure. After experiencing Madrid through tapas -- in...

Over the past few weeks, I've been trying to learn more about motivations for travel. "Why?" seems to be the most urgent question put to travelers. It's asked not just by others, but also by the conscience. Everyone seems to want an explanation -- friends, family, former/current/potential romances, current or future employers. Whenever someone asks,...

When I was a child, my mother thought I'd join a nudist colony; I was always taking off my little toddler dresses and running around in the backyard with nothing on. As an adult, I've managed to parlay comfort with my body into an easily portable financial application: nude figure modeling. There are two genres...

The best travel soundtrack is made of the distinct sounds of a place. A foghorn’s wail, the sizzle of cooking, a howler monkey’s roar, or an imam’s call to prayer—all can bring us back to a place as easily as seeing a photo. What about your playlists? Do they help conjure a moment on a...

Rolf's latest travel project is the No Baggage Challenge -- a journey that will take him around the world without using a single piece of luggage. Every few days, we'll be updating Vagabonding with a recap of the latest to keep you up to date on the adventure. Rolf spent 36 hours in Paris catching...

No matter where you are in the world, you can be concerned with your sexual health; the World Health Organization defines good health as being not just the absence of sickness or disease, but also the active presence of physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing. Aside from more obvious issues of sexual health (like wearing condoms...

As announced last week , Rolf's latest travel project is the No Baggage Challenge -- a journey that will take him around the world without using a single piece of luggage. Rolf and cameraman Justin left New York City for London on Saturday and are now headed for Madrid. Every few days, we'll be updating...

It’s inevitable: Whether your choice places to stay when you travel are hostels or hotels, you’ll eventually end up couch surfing in the home of a friend or acquaintance. How do you know you’ll be a good guest? Lifehacker ’s recent “ Be a Perfect Guest in the 21st Century ” points out that the...

Today I'm excited to announce my latest travel project: the No Baggage Challenge . Starting Saturday I will embark from New York on a journey that will take me around the world without using a single piece of luggage. From late August to early October I will explore 12 countries on five continents, crossing the...